Latest / Kendall County News - Shaw Local / Following residents’ safety concerns, Yorkville applies for state grant for bicycle path to Routes 47 and 34

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Following residents’ safety concerns, Yorkville applies for state grant for bicycle path to Routes 47 and 34 · Kendall County News - Shaw Local

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  Following resident safety concerns, Yorkville applies for state grant for bicycle path
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  to Route 47.
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  And 34. This article is being read by
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  an automated voice, brought to you by Everlett. The
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  city of Yorkville is reviewing options to construct the long-explored multi-use pedestrian
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  pathway along Cannonball Trail connecting to Illinois Route 47. Initial plans for
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  the pedestrian and bicycle pathway came together after several residents voiced safety
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  concerns, including after a serious bicycling incident in 2025. The city.
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  Is estimating the near-mile-long pathway, providing direct pedestrian connection to US Route
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  34 and Illinois Route 47 would costs.
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  Around 1 million. To help offset the costs, the city approved applying
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  for an Illinois Transportation Enhancement Program grant. The grant is competitive and
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  not promised to the city.
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  As part of the grant application, the state would cover 828,024
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  and the city would cover 263,256 of the total project
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  costs. City Administrator Bart Olson said the city previously received a 3
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  million IT grant for transportation improvements around the downtown hydraulic district. He
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  said, although the grant is not a guarantee, The
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  project is worth doing for the safety and recreational improvements it would
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  bring to the city. Not only is it a safety improvement, but
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  it ties into the regional trail network whenever the Route 47 section
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  gets built, Olsen said. A bigger issue there is going to be
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  is acquiring easements from private landowners, which the may necessitate a different
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  location of the trail depending on initial resistance and cost. The city
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  and the Illinois Department of Transportation currently are expanding Route 47-4 lanes
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  in the area. As part of the grant program, the city would
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  be responsible for all ineligible costs of the project, according to city
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  documents. The pathway would start at the corner of Blackberry Shore Lane,
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  around 0.75 miles from The
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  future multi-use path at the intersection of Route 47 that will be
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  installed as part of IDET's expansion project. Creating a multi-use path will
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  aid in alternative flow of bicycle and pedestrian traffic and will allow
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  increased use of
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  the future regional trail along Route 47 Staff said in city documents.
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  This will create a safe atmosphere by allowing pedestrians and bicyclists to
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  enjoy the area and flow through without the worry of vehicular traffic.
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  The
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  multi-use path would be a ten foot wide asphalt trail running along
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  the east side of Cannonball Trail. The path also would Connecting
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  the Kendall Marketplace to Route 47 and would connect to the already
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  existing bicycle path on Cannonball Trail from Route 34 to Blackberry Shore
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  Lane. As part of the project, staff would need to conduct tree
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  removal and earth and drainage improvements along the site. The city currently
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  is collecting letters of support for the project from residents in the
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  area, elected officials, and local agencies. The city previously conducted a 20,000
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  feasibility study to narrow down a design for the multi-use path. City
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  staff said the earliest the pathway would be constructed would be twenty
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  thirty. Connecting They city In 2012 the city did a successful referendum
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  for a bicycle path bond of about 8 million to connect every
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  subdivision in town that wasn't already connected to Route 47 with additional
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  bicycle pathways. With the city's new construction and subdivisions, several locations throughout
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  the city, especially along its outer limits, currently are not connected to
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  the overall bicycle pathway system. As part of the Route 47 expansion,
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  a new multi-use bicycle and pedestrian lane is being constructed on bridges
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  along Route 47, with a pedestrian connector running along the east side
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  of the roadway. City officials foresee all pedestrian pathways connecting the subdivisions.
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  They said this will enhance transportation ease and safety all the way
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  into the town's downtown district along the Fox River.